Diablo IV is getting closer, and after confirming its final release date, they have begun to show more of different classes of the video game to attract fans and generate interest in trying the different possibilities. One of the trailers brings back a classic from the Diablo franchise, the barbarian, however, it has caused controversy for internet users, who believe that he bears an overly suspicious resemblance to Kratos.
In the trailer, the barbarian is shown as a bare-chested character with metal shoulder pads, a beard and bald head, as well as a blue eye mark, who is rampaging through his enemies using axes, hammers and chains, knocking down all enemies. let them cross Internet users couldn’t help but compare the character to Kratos, the character from God of War, accusing Blizzard of blatant plagiarism by stealing the image of the Ghost of Sparta, only changing facial features and skin color, without knowing that the story is really different.
The barbarian was designed long before Kratos.
The history between Kratos and the barbarian class is quite old, dating back to the creation of the Diablo character in 1996, as an expansion for the first game, although the class gained more recognition in 2000 for Diablo II; On the other hand, Kratos had his debut in the first God of War in 2005, with his pale face with a red mark on one of his eyes. However, David Jaffe confirmed in 2012 interviews that Kratos’ initial design was too similar to that of the Diablo II barbarian, as the God of War character was created with a blue eye mark, as well as wearing a braid, Characteristics that, although he affirms that they were a coincidence, they decided to change them to leave the Spartan warrior with the physical characteristics that the players later knew.
Above is the Barbarian’s skin for Diablo II from 2000, below is Kratos’s skin before it was changed for 2005.
Users who did not know the relationship between the two characters showed a lot of rejection towards Diablo IV, believing that it was a blatant plagiarism; but, on Blizzard’s part, the resemblance shown by the current barbarian in the trailer seems more like a nod to Kratos’ current design, something that pleased Playstation, who seemed to enjoy the detail and have even joked with the presentation, as in the case of Playstation Spain, where they called the character ‘Krotas, the barbarian’.
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